Shloka 78

बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account

On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics

Devanagari script

रैवताद युवनाश्वश्व युवनाश्वात्ततो रघु: । इक्ष्वाकुवंशजस्तस्माद्धरिणाश्व: प्रतापवान्‌

Transliteration

Raivatād Yuvanāśvaś ca Yuvanāśvāt tato Raghuḥ | Ikṣvākūvaṁśajas tasmād Hariṇāśvaḥ pratāpavān ||

Translation

Bhīṣma prosigue la genealogía real: de Raivata nació Yuvanāśva; de Yuvanāśva nació Raghu; y de aquella ilustre estirpe de Ikṣvāku surgió el poderoso Hariṇāśva, célebre por su valor.

Word by Word

रैवतात्from Raivata

युवनाश्वःYuvanāśva

युवनाश्वात्from Yuvanāśva

ततःthen; thereafter

रघुःRaghu

इक्ष्वाकुवंशजःa descendant of the Ikṣvāku lineage

तस्मात्from him; from that (one)

हरिणाश्वःHariṇāśva

प्रतापवान्mighty; valorous

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Raivata

Yuvanāśva

Raghu

Ikṣvāku dynasty (Ikṣvākūvaṁśa)

Hariṇāśva

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights continuity of dharma through dynastic succession: exemplary kings are remembered not only as individuals but as links in a chain that preserves righteous governance, valor, and responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is reciting a genealogical sequence within the Ikṣvāku (solar) line, naming successive rulers—Raivata, Yuvanāśva, Raghu, and Hariṇāśva—to situate later teachings about royal conduct within an authoritative ancestral tradition.